Nozzle for suction cleaners



Jan. 31, 1950 c. H. TAYLOR NOZZLE FOR SUCTION CLEANERS Filed 001;. 8, 1945 a v 5 0 LJ m. 5

L Y WY E H m E 0 v n I m y WITNESSES: as. 14.

Patented Jan. 31, 1950 v NT OFFICE NOZZLE FOR SUCTION CLEANERS Charles H. Taylor, Springfield, Mam, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh la, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October a, 1945, Serial No. 621,059 1 Claim. (01.15-373) My invention relates to a suction cleaner and has for an object to produce an improved floor tool or nozzle for such cleaner.

In using a suction cleaner it ls sometimes desirable to rely on the velocity of the air stream to remove the dirt from the surface being cleaned. At other times it becomes necessary or desirable to supplement the action of the air stream by applying a brushing action to said surface.

It is, therefore, a further object of the invention to produce an improved suction cleaner by means of which the surface to be cleaned can be selectively subjected to suction only or to combined suction and brushing action.

A further object is to produce an improved nozzle structure in which the brushing pressure may be increased, decreased, or entirely omitted, by merely varying the pressure on the nozzle and without the use ofadjustlng screws or other devices.

A still further object is to produce an improved nozzle structure which will be light and inexpensive and which may be operated with no skill and with very little effort.

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claim taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. l is a bottom plan view of a suction cleaner nozzle embodying the invention, certain parts being omitted or broken away to show details of construction;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 11-11 of Fig. 1. showing the brush in its uppermost position;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line IIIIII of F18. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the right-hand portion of Fig. 2, showing the brush in its lowermost position;

Fig. 5 is a view of the lower portion of Fig. 3 but showing the brush in its lowermost position; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a preferred form of brush supporting and actuating means embodying the invention.

In the drawings there is shown a suction cleaner nozzle formed of a top wall It, front and rear side walls I! and I4, and end walls I 5. The

interior of the nozzle is divided by a partition l8 to form a rear brush compartment 20 and a front suction compartment 22. The rear brush compartment 20 is completely separated from the front suction compartment and houses the brush and the means for locating or controlling the acfor a purpose hereinafter 2 tion of the brush, all of which will be hereinafter further referred to.

The compartment 22 is open at its bottom so as to provide an air intake opening and is provided at its top with an air discharge opening 26. The air discharge opening 26 is connected by means of a hollow conduit 28 to a source of suction such as a fan motor unit, not shown.

In the brush compartment 20, I provide a brush and means for normally raising the brush wholly out of contact with the surface being cleaned and for permitting use of the brush with a varying degree of pressure, at the pleasure of the operator.

As shown, the "brush includes a backing strip or bar 32 and pendant tufts or bristles 34, which, when the brush is moved downwardly, are adapted to project through the bottom opening of the brush compartment 20, as shown in Fig. 5. The brush is supported, and is raised and lowered by a pair of identical rocker members 36 one of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 6. The members 36 are located at, or near, the opposite ends of the nozzle as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Since the structure and function of the members 36 are identical, only one of them will be described in detail, and they will both be designated by the same reference numerals.

As will be best seen from Fig. 6, each of the rocker members includes front and rear side walls 40 and 42 which are connected by an end web or wall 44. The lower ends of the walls 40, 42 and 44 terminate in, or carry, a dished shoe 48 which is adapted to underlie the adjacent end of the nozzle. The underside of the shoe is smooth and rounded so as to slide easily on the surface being cleaned. In order to permit vertical movement of the shoe 46 relative to the nozzle, explained, the lower adjacent edge of the nozzle is cut away at 48 to accommodate the turned-up flange 49 of the shoe, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

'The front and rear side walls 40 and 42 of the rocker members are provided with front and rear arms 50 and 52 which extend inwardly or toward center of the nozzle for supporting the brush. As shown, the arm 50 is bent or provided with a flange 54 which overlies the top of the brush bar 32, and the arm 52 is bent or provided with a flange 56 which underlies the lower adjacent edge of the brush bar, as will.be understood from Figs. 1, 2 and 3. As will be seen from Figs. 3 and 5, a predetermined amount of play is provided between the flanges 54 and 56 and the brush bar 32, so as to permit tilting of the arms 50 and 52 with the upward and downward movement of the brush.

Each rocker member 38 is pivoted to the front and rear walls of the nozzle on an axis extending transversely of the walls by a pivot pin 60 and is biased inclockwise direction, as viewed at the right-hand end of Fig. 2, by a spring 62, one arm 64 of which abuts against a boss 86 on the upper wall of the nozzle, and the other arm 68 of which engages the upper edge of the end wall 44.

Operation When the cleaner nozzle is oil the floor, that Y is, when no downward pressure at all. is exerted upon the nozzle, the springs 62 bias the shoes 46 downwardly, thus rotating the rocker members 36 about their pivots and raising the brush. This movement of the rocker members 36 is limited by abutment of the upper ends of the arms 40 and 42 against the upper wall of the nozzle, as shown in Fig. 2. The brush is now in its uppermost position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. when the nozzle is placed on the surface to be cleaned, the weight of the nozzle, or the exertion of some pressure thereon or both, depending on the strength of the springs 62, will move the shoes 46 somewhat upwardly relative to the nozzle, thus tilting the arms 50 and 52 downwardly and lowering the brush to a corresponding extent. The brush now contacts the surface to be cleaned with a force equal to, or slightly in excess of, its weight depending on the pressure exerted upon the nozzle. When it is desired to increase the brushing pressure, additional downward pressure is exerted on the nozzle, thus further raising the shoes 48 and further tilting the arms 50 and 52 and lowering the brush until the position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is reached. In this position, the upper flanges 54 engage and apply positive downward pressure on the top of the brush bar. The brush now contacts the surface to be cleaned with a pressure correspondnig to that exerted on the nozzle. It will be understood that the upward movement of the shoes 46 is limited by contact of the shoes with the underside of the nozzle, as shown in Fig. 4. This limits the amounts of pressure that can be applied to the brush.

If it is desired to prevent the brush from contacting the surface to be cleaned when the nozzle is placed on said surface without any pressure being exerted thereon, or when the pressure is merely that normally exerted in moving the nozzle over said surface, the springs 82 can be made somewhat stronger so as to counterbalance brush, pressure sutiicient to overcome the force of the spring 62 will be exerted by the operator. While I have shown my. invention in but one a form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art Number that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim is:

A-suction cleaner nozzle comprising an elongated body having an elongated suction opening in the underside thereof and adapted to be moved over a' surface to be cleaned, an elongated brush disposed adjacent said suction opening for engaging the surface to be cleaned, two rocker members disposed at the opposite ends of the nomle for supporting said brush on said body, each rocker member comprising two arms disposed on opposite sides of the brush and extending along the brush inwardly from the end thereof, an end portion disposed beyond and opposite the end of the brush and connecting said arms, and a shoe or surface contacting portion carried at the lower end of said end portion and projecting outwardly therefrom, the arms of each rocker member being pivoted to said body at a point intermediate the length of the arms on an axis extending transversely of the body, said brush being supported by said rocker members at the ends of the arms remote from said end portions and being raised and lowered by rocking movement of said rocker members, and means for biasing each rocker member in the direction to raise the brush, said brush being adapted to be lowered into engagement with the surface to be cleaned by downward pressure on said body.

CHARLES H. TAYLOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Jones Sept. 10, 1912 Teves Oct. 23, 1928 Tracy Aug. '7, 1934 Henrich Dec. 1,7, 1935 McCardle Feb. 4, 1936 Leathers mi. I0, 1935 

